River's Freedom
by Shadowheart51
Summary: A Wolf-hybrid is appearently on the loose outside of the Cat-hybrid Kingdom. Tom, a Cat-hybrid hears plans of killing the Wolf. It makes him mad to think the Cat-hybrids would kill a innocent child. He and a friend plans to help the Wolf but from what they don't know is that the Wolf-hybrid has a secret that could be fatal to the Kingdom and to everyone else.
1. Chapter 1: Wolf

**River's Freedom**

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**Chapter 1: Wolf**

It was seven years after Tom's son was found strangled to death by a Wolf-hybrid. He walked into the market and smiled as he heard a familiar voice call him name. He waved to his friend, Sebastian who was the owner of the store. After he got the food and supplies he needed he went to check out.

"Hey Tom, everything alright?" Tom's black earred and tailed friend, Sebastian asked smiling. "Yeah, everything's fine. Life's going on as normal." replied Tom, smiling back. The two stopped talking as five Cat-hybrids walked in, talking loudly. "I'm sure as heck it's a wolf." one of them said. "All we have to do is find it and make it leave." another said. Sebastian watched, slightly worried as Tom's brown eyes narrowed. "Hey Tom, Seb." one of the Cat-hybrids said, waving to them. "Hey Jack." Sebastian greeted him. Tom nodded his head to Jack.

Jack walked over to Tom and Sebastian, his black white-tipped tail moving excitedly behind him. "We think there's a wolf not far from the edge of the forest, near SwiftStar Cliff. It looks like it maybe a young wolf too." Jack informed them. "What are you guys going to do?" Sebastian asked. "The others are thinking of capturing and killing it." replied Jack. "Leave it alone. It hasn't done anything wrong." growled Tom, surprising the other men. Tom stalked off without another word. "I kind of agree with Tom. Leave it alone." Sebastian said.

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Tom took a deep breath after he was half a mile away from the market. He knew he shouldn't have bursted out like that but he couldn't stand the thought of a young wolf, who could even be a mere pup, being captured and killed for doing nothing. Yes, he hated Wolves because one had killed his son but still, he couldn't fathom the idea.

The Cat-hybrid opened the door to his house and walked in. Tom's house was a little over two miles from the Cat-hybrid Kingdom. The house was surrounded by trees on three sides and not far from SwiftStar Cliff, which was at least three-fourths of a mile away. Also, a small fresh water stream flowed about a half mile from the back of the house.

Tom placed the food and supplies up and sat down on the couch. "How could someone think of hurting a child?" he asked himself. "Maybe the wolf doesn't even have a home." Tom got up and walked to the back door. He sat down on the porch watching the trees sway. He flicked his grey ears when the breeze hit them. '_'Maybe the child's scared.' he thought._ From what Tom didn't know was that he was completely right.


	2. Chapter 2: Surprise Visit

**Chapter 2: Surprise Visit**

Tom pushed himself out of bed the next morning. After taking a shower and putting on a fresh pair of clothing, Tom fixed himself something to eat. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. "Who could it be at this time in the morning." he asked himself as he went to open the door. Tom opened the door to reveal a Cat-hybrid with white ears and tail.

"Hello Tom." the Cat-hybrid said. "Thunder, I'm surprised you're here. Shouldn't you be with the king?" Tom asked, letting Thunder inside. "Cyska, let me have a couple of days off. I've heard about the Wolf. The hunters' plan is to kill it, supposedly." replied Thunder, running a hand through his dark brown hair. "I don't like the idea at all." Tom said with a slight growl in his voice.

Thunder studied Tom for a second before saying "I don't like the idea also. The pup could be all alone. It may not even know how to defend itself." Tom nodded his head in agreement. "I wish there was someway we could help," whispered Tom. "Hey, would you like to go on a walk with me? You haven't visited me in a while with you being busy with the king." "I would like that very much." replied Thunder, smiling gently.

A few minutes later Tom and Thunder were walking toward the stream. Thunder glanced at Tom and said "You had Sebastian worried about you yesterday after you stormed out of the market." "I should go and apologize to him." said Tom. Tom stopped and looked down at the ground.

Suddenly Tom noticed small footprints near the bank of the stream. "Thunder look." he said. Thunder crouched down and examined the prints. "Someone was here, maybe, at least thirty minutes ago. They're probably long gone now." Thunder said.

Tom and Thunder searched the ground further away from the stream's bank. They didn't find anymore footprints. "They looked like Wolf tracks. Maybe the pup was looking for water and got this close." suggested Thunder. "I would protect the Wolf if I could but I don't even know where it is." said Tom.


	3. Chapter 3: Midnight Chase

Chapter 3: Midnight Chase

It was three o'clock when Thunder left. Tom paced the living room floor. His grey tail lashed from side to side. He was mad and couldn't calm the anger rising inside of him. A low growl escaped his mouth as he threw the cup on the counter against the wall. It shattered into pieces.

Tom stared at the broken cup. "I'm letting this whole Wolf thing get to me too much." he said to himself. "Maybe I'll head up to Starcatcher Falls later, after I clean up this mess." Tom took the broom and dust pan out of the laundry room and swept up the shards.

Two hours later Tom found himself inside Sebastian's store. He walked over to his friend who was putting fresh fruit out. He touched Sebastian's shoulder. Sebastian turned around and smiled at him. "Hey." he greeted. "Hi Seb." Tom replied. "What can I do for you Tom?" Sebastian asked. "Nothing, I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I didn't mean to sound like that. It's just..." Tom trailed off not knowing what else to say.

Sebastian looked at Tom and said "It's alright. They should have known better than to say something like that infront of you. Everyone knows how you are about kids, Cat or not." Tom smiled softly at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right, but I think this is going too far for me. It's getting on my nerves. All I can think about is the Wolf pup." he said. Tom said goodbye and left the store.

Tom strayed from the main road leading home. He was heading toward Starcatcher Falls. He was surprised to know his visit to Sebastian's had gone better than he thought it would. Tom closed his eyes and stood was a cool breeze coming from the east. It felt good.

Minutes later Tom stopped at the water's edge of Starcatcher Falls. He slipped his boots off, sat down on a large rock and placed his feet in the water. The water was cold but it felt good to his hot feet. Everything was quiet. The only things he could hear were the birds and the large waterfall.

He smiled. It was so peaceful. When his child had still been alive he had taken him along with Sebastian and Thunder to the falls to swim. The falls were the same spot where he and Sebastian as kids had befriended and discovered Thunder was an Angel Cat.

Thunder and Sebastian were Tom's best friends. Sebastian was smart and could cheer anyone up with a single smile. Thunder was smart, understanding and wise. Thunder was actually the last Angel Cat in existance. He had grown up in the castle with his father, who had been King Cyska's father's healer. Thunder was Cyska and the Kingdom's healer now.

Tom suddenly was snapped out of his memories when a noise reached his ears. It was dark. Tom slipped his boots back on and looked at his watch. It read 11:23. "I need to stop zoning out." he whispered. He flicked his ears and abruptly stood. He was sure he heard the sound of small feet on the ground.

Tom sniffed the air. He didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. _'I know I heard something.' he thought. _He slowly turned around in a circle. All of his senses were on high alert. Tom suddenly heard a crashing noise in the forest. Someone was running, but why? as cautiously as he could he walked into the forest.

Several minutes later Tom bent over to examine a pair of footprints on the ground. They were Wolf prints. _'If that was the Wolf pup it still should be here, somewhere.' Tom thought._ Tom's head snapped up as a howl echoed from far ahead. He sprinted foreward at a fast pace.

Thirty minutes later Tom stopped running. He was panting heavily. He had trouble hearing because of the blood pounding in his ears. Once able to properly breathe again he walked off toward SwiftStar Cliff. That was where the howling was coming from.

As Tom neared the cliff the howling stopped. Tom paused at the edge of the trees. He looked around but saw nothing. The Wolf wasn't there anymore. Tom sighed and turned around toward home. The Cat-hybrid didn't notice the frightened eyes watching his every moved.


End file.
